Continued progress in public governance, including stronger fiscal management and greater use of digital government tools, will help governments in Southeast Asia (SEA) unlock further growth and effectively serve the public, according to a new OECD and Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
The second edition of Government at a Glance: Southeast Asia provides comparable data on governance practices across Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. It offers an evidence base to support better policy design and implementation.
“In recent decades, Southeast Asian countries have achieved strong economic growth, significantly reduced poverty and improved healthcare, education and justice systems," OECD Deputy Secretary-General František Ruzicka said. "Sustainably managing public finances and building human-centred institutions and public services will be essential to build on these gains as the region navigates rapid urbanisation, climate change, and the digital transformation."
SEA countries returned to growth after the pandemic. Maintaining sound fiscal frameworks will require effective budgetary practices and raising government revenues. Government debt rose an average from 44% of GDP in 2019 to 58% in 2023. General government revenues remain comparatively low at 17.8% of GDP, well below the OECD average of 38%. Most SEA countries have fiscal rules in place, but only half have an independent institution to provide objective scrutiny of fiscal policy. Strengthening budgeting processes and mobilising revenue will help support the long-term sustainability of public finances.
Strengthening resilience to environmental risks will be critical for safeguarding development progress. Many SEA governments are investing heavily in new infrastructure and generally demonstrate strong capacity in evidence-based planning. However, the implementation of green budgeting and the availability of high-value environmental data remain uneven. Improving appraisal of infrastructure projects would help ensure the long-term value of public spending.
Citizens across the region express high satisfaction with services; 87% are satisfied with healthcare and 89% with education services. However, progress in administrative services has been slower. While most SEA countries have strategies to enhance public administrative services, performance monitoring is not consistent and digital access is limited. In seven of eight countries, most online public services cannot be accessed through a secure and user-friendly digital identity.
Greater openness and citizen participation offer opportunities to further strengthen public trust. The region trails OECD countries in its use of digital and interactive fiscal reporting platforms, and user testing for new digital public services. Only 23% of high-value datasets in SEA countries are currently easily accessible to the public, compared to an OECD average of 47%. Reform in these areas would improve transparency and accountability.
Most SEA governments have a National Digital Government Strategy in place and structures to oversee digital government work. However, the use of AI in the public sector remains limited, with only Indonesia and Singapore reporting applications to date. Effective use of AI can support governments to proactively anticipate the needs of citizens and businesses and respond to them promptly.
See the full report, data, country notes (for Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam) and summary here.
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